Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Telehealth
Telehealth: 2026 National Patient Safety Goals
Identifies National Patient Safety Goals for the Joint Commission's Telehealth Accreditation Program. Covers patient and resident identification, caregiver communication, medication safety, suicide prevention, and more. Effective January 1, 2026.
Additional links: Simplified Version
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organization: Joint Commission
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Identifies National Patient Safety Goals for the Joint Commission's Telehealth Accreditation Program. Covers patient and resident identification, caregiver communication, medication safety, suicide prevention, and more. Effective January 1, 2026.
Additional links: Simplified Version
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organization: Joint Commission
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Transforming Care: The Impact of COVID-19 on Telehealth Adoption in U.S. Home Health Care Agencies
Surveys 474 home health agencies between November 2022 and March 2024 to identify telehealth use and the perceived impact of COVID-19 policies on telehealth adoption. Includes rural and urban comparisons of telehealth modalities utilized to discuss targeted policies to support rural adoption.
Author(s): U. Gayani E. Perera, Ashley M. Chastain, Andrew W. Dick, et al.
Citation: Telemedicine and e-Health, 31(12), 1503-1507
Date: 09/2025
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Surveys 474 home health agencies between November 2022 and March 2024 to identify telehealth use and the perceived impact of COVID-19 policies on telehealth adoption. Includes rural and urban comparisons of telehealth modalities utilized to discuss targeted policies to support rural adoption.
Author(s): U. Gayani E. Perera, Ashley M. Chastain, Andrew W. Dick, et al.
Citation: Telemedicine and e-Health, 31(12), 1503-1507
Date: 09/2025
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Community Health Centers and Rural Health: Essential Access, Enduring Challenges
Discusses the role community health centers (CHCs) play in delivering primary care in rural areas. Describes the challenges rural CHCs face and strategies to stabilize and strengthen these facilities. Includes data on the rural CHC workforce and the percentage of all CHC patients served by a rural CHC by state. Compares healthcare quality, the percent of medical and mental health visits that were virtual, and the percent of patients with select chronic conditions by rural and urban location.
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organizations: National Association of Community Health Centers, WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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Discusses the role community health centers (CHCs) play in delivering primary care in rural areas. Describes the challenges rural CHCs face and strategies to stabilize and strengthen these facilities. Includes data on the rural CHC workforce and the percentage of all CHC patients served by a rural CHC by state. Compares healthcare quality, the percent of medical and mental health visits that were virtual, and the percent of patients with select chronic conditions by rural and urban location.
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organizations: National Association of Community Health Centers, WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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Study Team Perspectives on a Multisite Randomized Clinical Trial with Underserved Rural Populations: A Mixed Methods Feasibility Analysis
Surveys clinical trial study staff on barriers and facilitators of conducting the iAmHealthy Intervention, a mobile health-based clinical trial focused on addressing obesity among rural families and children. Discusses participant recruitment, engagement, and retention, best practices for communicating study procedures and expectations, experiences working with rural populations, and more.
Author(s): Kristina L. Foster, Sarah Sanders, Christi A. Madden, et al.
Citation: PLoS One, 20(9), e0333229
Date: 09/2025
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Surveys clinical trial study staff on barriers and facilitators of conducting the iAmHealthy Intervention, a mobile health-based clinical trial focused on addressing obesity among rural families and children. Discusses participant recruitment, engagement, and retention, best practices for communicating study procedures and expectations, experiences working with rural populations, and more.
Author(s): Kristina L. Foster, Sarah Sanders, Christi A. Madden, et al.
Citation: PLoS One, 20(9), e0333229
Date: 09/2025
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Creation of a Telehealth Addiction Consultation Service at a Rural Hospital: A Case Study
Details the implementation and evaluation of the Community Addiction Consult (CAC) service, which facilitated medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) treatment and provided other supports for hospital-based addiction care via telehealth consultations by community, non-hospital clinicians in rural Massachusetts. Highlights the significance of the CAC model as a support for improving access to hospital-based substance use disorder treatment in rural areas.
Author(s): Rachel Katz, Tiarra Fisher, Talia Singer-Clark, et al.
Citation: Addiction Science & Clinical Practice, 20, 76
Date: 09/2025
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Details the implementation and evaluation of the Community Addiction Consult (CAC) service, which facilitated medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) treatment and provided other supports for hospital-based addiction care via telehealth consultations by community, non-hospital clinicians in rural Massachusetts. Highlights the significance of the CAC model as a support for improving access to hospital-based substance use disorder treatment in rural areas.
Author(s): Rachel Katz, Tiarra Fisher, Talia Singer-Clark, et al.
Citation: Addiction Science & Clinical Practice, 20, 76
Date: 09/2025
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Stuck in the Middle: Internet Insecurity in Rural America
Reports on internet insecurity and internet use among 2,600 rural households in Michigan and Colorado, with additional data and discussion of factors influencing rural internet access throughout the United States.
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organization: Connected Nation
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Reports on internet insecurity and internet use among 2,600 rural households in Michigan and Colorado, with additional data and discussion of factors influencing rural internet access throughout the United States.
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organization: Connected Nation
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State Strategies for Strengthening Rural Health: Insights from NASHP's 2025 Annual Conference
Summarizes a session from the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) 2025 Annual Conference regarding state strategies to improve access to care in rural communities. Highlights policies from North Dakota, Washington, and West Virginia related to workforce and capacity challenges, broadband and telehealth, behavioral health access points, and linking health and social care.
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organization: National Academy for State Health Policy
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Summarizes a session from the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) 2025 Annual Conference regarding state strategies to improve access to care in rural communities. Highlights policies from North Dakota, Washington, and West Virginia related to workforce and capacity challenges, broadband and telehealth, behavioral health access points, and linking health and social care.
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organization: National Academy for State Health Policy
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MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on CY 2026 Revisions to Payment Policies Under the Physician Fee Schedule and Other Changes to Part B for Payment Policies
Comment on a July 16, 2025, Federal Register proposed rule revising the physician fee schedule to improve payment systems for physicians and other Medicare Part B revisions. Includes a discussion of a proposal to allow Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) to provide and bill for medical visits via telehealth and be paid at Physician Fee Schedule (PFS)-equivalent rates through December 2026.
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Comment on a July 16, 2025, Federal Register proposed rule revising the physician fee schedule to improve payment systems for physicians and other Medicare Part B revisions. Includes a discussion of a proposal to allow Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) to provide and bill for medical visits via telehealth and be paid at Physician Fee Schedule (PFS)-equivalent rates through December 2026.
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Telemedicine Buprenorphine Access For Incarcerated People: Lessons Learned From Maryland's Rural Jails
Explores the lessons learned form implementing a telemedicine-based buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder in rural Maryland jails. Highlights the challenges and opportunities expanding, establishing, and implementing buprenorphine treatment via telemedicine. Draws conclusions for future interventions.
Author(s): Max Spaderna, Annabelle M. Belcher, Chris Welsh, et al.
Citation: Health Affairs, 44(9), 1131-1137
Date: 09/2025
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Explores the lessons learned form implementing a telemedicine-based buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder in rural Maryland jails. Highlights the challenges and opportunities expanding, establishing, and implementing buprenorphine treatment via telemedicine. Draws conclusions for future interventions.
Author(s): Max Spaderna, Annabelle M. Belcher, Chris Welsh, et al.
Citation: Health Affairs, 44(9), 1131-1137
Date: 09/2025
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Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies (RMOMS) Program
Describes a pilot grant program designed to improve maternal and neonatal health in rural communities by collecting data and supporting the development of financially sustainable and coordinated network models. Aims to make maternal and obstetrics care more accessible through increased use of telehealth and specialty care. Fact sheet provides information on the activities of 3 rural networks funded through the RMOMS program.
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organizations: Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, Maternal and Child Health Bureau
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Describes a pilot grant program designed to improve maternal and neonatal health in rural communities by collecting data and supporting the development of financially sustainable and coordinated network models. Aims to make maternal and obstetrics care more accessible through increased use of telehealth and specialty care. Fact sheet provides information on the activities of 3 rural networks funded through the RMOMS program.
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organizations: Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, Maternal and Child Health Bureau
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